Only Time Will Tell (A Luberto Story)

Chapter 3- The Mysterious Letter

"Daniela, he's only 14, he hasn't grown that much," Lorenzo said.

"Well it doesn't really matter to me," Daniela said as she stroked Luca's hair. "He's still our bubble, as mom would say."

Luca's grandmother laughed and nodded at Luca. She always had a sense of pride, considering that she had created that nickname for Luca.

At last, Daniela let go of her son and put her hands on her heart. "Oh, all right, you can go now. Why don't you go hang out with Giulia while we wait for Alberto and Massimo to get here."

Luca grinned and waved goodbye to his family as he headed towards Giulia again.

Giulia noticed Luca walking towards her and stopped unpacking her suitcase. "Oh Luca, how was your family!"

Luca said, "Good good, pretty much the same haha."

Giulia laughed with him as she continued to unpack her suitcase. "I'm sure Alberto and papa should be here soon. I mean, why would they be so late?"

Luca gasped, "Oh, my mom just told me! Apparently they have a surprise for us!"

"Oh, no wonder they're so late!" Giulia giggled. "Yeah, knowing Alberto and my dad, they probably either made or baked something. That's my guess."

Luca thought about homemade pastries that were made by Alberto and Massimo. The thought of having his first meal in Portorosso after so long made his stomach rumble. Luca remembered that in one of Alberto's letters, he told Luca that he started to bake with Massimo. It made Luca happy that Alberto had found a new hobby. He just hoped that Alberto was a decent baker. Either way, he was happy for Alberto.

Speaking of the letters...

Luca grabbed one of his smaller suitcases and opened it. As soon as he opened it, a pile of neatly folded up letters came pouring out of the suitcase. They were all of the letters Alberto had written him. Luca had written Alberto tons of letters too, and the two would often call on Giulia's telephone as well. Alberto's writing skills weren't very good if Luca was being honest, but honestly it didn't matter to Luca. Just the thought of hearing from Alberto made Luca excited to read Alberto's letter every time it was delivered. Luca looked through the huge pile of letters and pulled out one, unfolding it with excitement. He started to read the letter:

Dear Luca,

Hi Luca, I miss u so much! How r u doing back in Ginoova? Me and Massimo hav ben baking a lot! I wish u could taste som of the things we hav made! They taste really good and yumy!
I cant wait too see u when u come back to us in the summer. I am getting better at riting every day so I hope u noticed that. Can't wait to see u again

Alberto :) ❤️

Luca felt all warm and fuzzy inside just like he felt during the train ride. He couldn't fully understand what it was, but it just made him feel funny. Luca ignored it and put the letter back in his suitcase. Giulia had always questioned why Luca was always so neat about collecting his letters, yet his room wasn't neat at all. She always joked about that, but Luca didn't mind. Those letters were something that Giulia couldn't understand; they were so important to him. The letters...

The letter!

Luca remembered the letter Giulia had given Luca on the train ride. She said it was a last minute letter from Alberto, but she had forgotten to give it to Luca until then. Luca's curiosity led him to ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter.

"Hey Giulia," Luca exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"That letter you gave me from earlier," Luca said as he smiled. "I'll read it now, if that's okay."

Giulia nodded, "Of course! You can read it whenever you want to!"

Luca turned back to focus on opening the letter. He started to unfold the piece of paper.

Before it happened

Before Luca could even react, a huge gust of wind came rushing into the train station, startling everyone there.

He didn't have a good enough grip on the letter...

Luca watched as the piece of paper was dropped onto the ground and overpowered by the wind. It was quickly swept into the air and swiftly moved towards the ocean.

"NO!!" Luca screamed.

"Luca, what's wr- Oh no your letter!!" Giulia screamed.

But it was too late for the duo to do anything. The letter was already over the ocean, guarded by a set of sharp rocks. If it had been a more normal spot, Luca could have maybe jumped into the water. But this spot was different. The sharp rocks prevented from doing anything but watching his letter float away. It was hopeless; Luca had lost the letter. The last glimpse he had of it was the letter floating towards his island. It was sinking further and further towards the ocean, which gave Luca the thought that there was no chance of Luca retrieving the letter. It was gone...

Giulia approached Luca and put an arm around his shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry Luca. That was just such bad luck.."

Luca felt a single tear down his face, making a few blueish-greenish scales appear on his face. He quickly wiped it away before Giulia noticed.

"It's okay Giulia, it's not your fault."

Giulia looked down at the floor before looking back at Luca. "But hey, you'll see the real Alberto soon. No need for the letters anymore, right?"

Luca smiled slightly. Giulia had always managed to cheer him up.

"Yeah, I will, yeah yeah!"

Luca grabbed Giulia's arm and pulled her towards the waiting area, hoping that Alberto and Massimo would be there waiting for them. Still no Alberto yet, Luca thought. The two sat down on a bench as they waited for Alberto and Massimo to come greet them. They hoped that the wait wouldn't be too much longer. As they waited, Luca's mind raced about the letter. What was it about? I hope it wasn't too important..

Luca quickly erased the thought from his mind. He would see the real Alberto soon, so it didn't matter! When they'll see him again is the main question.

Only time will tell..